Known for celebrating diversity in the entertainment industry, LEJA commended Barraza for her humorously engaging and emotionally moving portrayal of Nana, the feisty and loving Mexican grandmother to Jaime Reyes (Blue Beetle). Her scene-stealing performance resonated with audiences globally. The LEJA nomination not only recognizes Barraza’s exceptional talent but also acknowledges her significant impact as a Latina actress, paving the way for the Latino community in Hollywood.

The winners of the LEJA Awards will be announced virtually on Monday, February 12.

Barraza reflected on her nomination, stating, “I’m truly honored and thankful that the LEJA Awards have recognized me with this distinguished nomination. Being nominated is already a win for any actor, but to receive the nomination for this character of Nana, which I loved playing, means even more. My most important goal was to represent this beautiful part of the Latino community in the U.S., the brave women who immigrate to our beautiful country but work tirelessly to honor their roots.”

Adriana Barraza’s illustrious career has been marked by compelling performances, earning her accolades, including Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations in 2006 for Best Supporting Actress in “Babel.” In addition to her role in “Blue Beetle,” Barraza starred in a heartwarming supporting role in the film “Monica” alongside Trace Lysette and Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson. The film premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, receiving an 11-minute standing ovation. Barraza also captivated audiences in the lead role of Maestra Georgina in the Netflix original Mexican feature film “El Ultimo Vagón,” directed by Ernesto Contreras. The film achieved significant success on Netflix, holding the position of the #1 Spanish-language movie worldwide for six consecutive weeks and standing out as one of the most successful Netflix films of 2023. Barraza’s dedication to her craft and her ability to breathe life into unforgettable characters solidify her as a formidable presence in the entertainment industry.

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Warner Bros. DC Comic Book action/adventure movie Blue Beetle has all the prerequisite elements for a great superhero flick to take its place alongside the long litany of similar movie fare that dominates the theaters today.

Blue Beetle revolves around a very likable, attractive young hero, an ultra-evil villain who threatens to take over the world, an apocalyptic storyline replete with pyrotechnic fireworks, explosions, gun fights, and hand-to-hand combat. There’s a romantic interest, a sequel teaser coda, and a wonderful, pulsating, rhythmic Latino music soundtrack. But the not-so-secret key ingredient that makes Blue Beetle a tasty, palatable, delicious, cinematic feast is the cast.

A Super Latino Cast of Characters

Xolo Maridueña plays Jaime Reyes, a recent college graduate, the first in his Mexican-American family. Through a series of improbable events that require much suspension of disbelief, a beetle scarab possessing enormous powers becomes a parasite on his back, endowing him with powers he has no desire to have. Maridueña, who is best known for his continuing role as Miguel Diaz on Cobra Kai, is funny and disarming as the accidental, reluctant hero with superpowers he has no control over.

It is Maridueña’s affable, humorous self-effacing performance that sets the tone for Blue Beetle.

George Lopez, whose career has evolved from stand-up comic, late-night talk show host to TV sitcom star to becoming an accomplished character actor in such films as, The Spy Next Door and El Chicano, puts all that experience to good use as Jaime’s zany, eccentric Uncle Rudy who doesn’t miss a chance to chew up the scenery in his many hilarious scenes.

The talented, versatile Mexican actress Adriana Barraza who has distinguished herself in such diverse films as Babel and Thor, is Jaime’s grandmother, Nana Reyes. At first glance, Nana appears to be your typical, lovable Mexican abuela. But this granny harbors a secret past, or at least she hints at one. Nana suggests she once was a gun-toting revolutionary in some Latin American conflict.

In the exciting climatic battle, Nana shows her old revolutionary stuff by expertly firing a machine gun, much like Barraza did in Gigi Saul Guererro’s film Bingo Hell, all the while laughing out loud with obvious glee.

Jamie’s mother, Rocio Reyes, is played by legendary (and this writer’s favorite) Mexican actress Elpidia Carrillo. She has appeared in numerous big-time films like Salvador, The Border, and Predator and held her own alongside costars like James Woods, Jack Nicholson, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Carrillo has appeared in several Mexican independent films as well as starring in International and American films and TV. She has won a plethora of awards for her work on the big and small screen. She also hosts an annual film festival in her home state of Michoacan, Mexico.

Despite her impressive cinema and TV pedigree, Carillo regrettably only has a small part in Blue Beetle. But it is a pivotal part, and true to her commitment as an artist, she does a lot with what she is given.

The Family is the Real Power

Director Angel Manuel Soto (The Farm, La Carta, 22 Weeks) and screenwriter Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, (Contrapelo, Miss Bala, El Muerto) have combined their considerable talents to create a story that illuminates and brings into sharp focus the warmth, love, and humor of the Mexican American experience found in the Blue Beetle DC Comic Book stories.

There is a strong subtext to Blue Beetle that posits the idea that Jaime Reyes’ superpowers owe as much to his strong familial connections as it does to an arbitrary beetle scarab talisman. And who better to represent the strength of the family on the big screen to a wide audience than a Mexican-American one?

There are some funny Latino cultural references used in writer Dunnet-Alcoceaideser’s script, and director Soto leavens the furious action set pieces with glib, self-effacing ad-lib asides by Jaime as he valiantly tries to rein in his out-of-control, oversized beetle bug superpowers.

A Disappointment at the Box Office

Blue Beetle is a fun roller coaster ride replete with action, laughs, and quirky, likeable Mexican-American characters struggling, battling and loving within a rich Latino cultural motif that received generally positive critical reviews and enthusiastic audience feedback.

So, why didn’t Blue Beetle do better at the box office? It earned $25 million during its first theatrical week of release. As of this writing, its global box office receipts are under $100 million.

Several reasons contributed to its weak performance at the box office.

• Dump Month Factor. Warner Bros. released Blue Beetle to theaters in mid-August 2023. August, by many movie industry insiders, is considered a “dump month” for movies the studio doesn’t have much confidence in, as opposed to those released during the holidays.
• Lack of Marketing. Due to the WGA/SAG strike, Blue Beetle cast members did not appear on late night TV shows to chat up the film. TV commercials promoting the film were rare compared to the avalanche of ads for Barbie.
• Blame it on Hillary. No, not that Hillary, the other Hillary, Tropical Storm Hillary. Hillary descended on Southern California just in time for the theatrical release of Blue Beetle. It was reported that the heavy rains put a damper on theater attendance.
• The DC Cinema Universe Losing Streak. Whereas the Marvel Universe churns one highly successful adventure superhero film after another, the DC Cinema Universe has turned out one box office turkey after another. The last most recent one, in a string of many box office failures was Shazam! Fury of the Gods.

Hope “Streams” Eternal

In 1946, Hollywood iconic director, Frank Capra, saw his film, It’s A Wonderful Life, starring Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore, open to a universal chorus of boo bird movie critics who ravaged his film for its style and content. It suffered miserably at the box office as well.

But with the advent of television, It’s A Wonderful Life over time became an annual Christmas viewing tradition and achieved a cult status which it still enjoys today.

When Blue Beetle is picked up by some streaming platform, a similar fate could befall this movie, too. On a streaming platform, it could gain the traction it didn’t get in the theaters and become a minor cult classic. With some newfound success, Blue Beetle could result in a sequel, maybe a franchise, and who knows, eventually a Broadway musical based on the DC Comic Mexican-American superhero.

A strong streaming performance could also convince the studio executives at Sony Pictures to rethink their decision to shelve Bad Bunny’s El Muerto and bring it back to life (bad pun intended).

So, let’s not throw out the big bug with the bath water just yet. Blue Beetle has a lot going for it; a great cast, storyline, and cultural diversity, which is so badly lacking in the world of superhero films today.

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The Latino community has long awaited a feature film like Blue Beetle. This film will be the first studio film with a Latino superhero in the lead. And that Latino is Xolo Maridueña, who audiences already love in Netflix’s it series Cobra Kai.

It’s a big tall order for Maridueña to carry the hopes of the Latino community on his shoulders. But he has been working all his life for an opportunity to represent and is up to the task. Xolo Maridueña is a native of Los Angeles. He started acting professionally in 2011. His natural talent quickly lead to dozens of roles within his first year. Those included several television commercials, a recurring role on Parenthood which soon turned into a series regular role. His other credits include Showtime’s Twin Peaks, and the TV drama Major Crimes. However, Maridueña is most known as Miguel in the Netflix original series, Cobra Kai, the continuation of the Karate Kid franchise.

Warner Bros. Pictures is also betting on this film and Maridueña. This could be the film that will finally solidify, not only the marketability of a Latino in a Superhero lead role, but also prove the power of the #1 film going audience in the U.S. — Latinos. The film, directed by Angel Manuel Soto, also stars a cast of well known Latino/a talent, an Academy Award nominee and a Oscar winning actress.

Blue Beetle marks the DC Super Hero’s first time on the big screen as well as Maridueña’s first film role. The Blue Beetle superhero first made an appearance in 1939, and is one of the oldest DC characters. Lending in Latino perspective to the Warner Bros. film is Mexican screenwriter Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, best known for Contrapelo and Miss Bala.

Maridueña plays Jaime Reyes who returns home from college with major plans for his life, but as it usually happens, life has a different plan. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: The Scarab. When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armor capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the Blue Beetle.

Soto has brought together a dreamcast to tell the story. From millennials to Academy Award nominated actors, to television superstars, which lends itself for more of a wide audience appeal.

Starring alongside Maridueña are Academy Award nominee Adriana Barraza (Rambo: Last Blood, Thor) as Jaime’s Nana, Damían Alcázar (Narcos, Narcos: Mexico) as his father, Elpidia Carrillo (Mayans M.C., the Predator) as his mother, George Lopez (Lopez Vs. Lopez, Rio and Smurf franchises) as Jaime’s Uncle Rudy, Raoul Max Trujillo (the Sicario films, Mayans M.C.) as Carapax, Bruna Marquezine (Maldivas, God Save the King) as Jenny Kord, with Oscar winner Susan Sarandon (Monarch, Dead Man Walking) as Victoria Kord. The film also stars Gen-z’er Belissa Escobedo (American Horror Stories, Hocus Pocus 2) as Jaime’s sister, Milagro, and millennial Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows) as Dr. Sanchez.

Director Soto hails from Puerto Rico, and is an avid traveler of the world. He first studied architecture and advertising but soon found his love for film. Having directed several short films, his long form films include Charm City Kings which received critical and a Grand Jury Nomination at Sundance, and his 2018 film The Farm took the Raindance Film Festival Immersive Stories Award. Blue Beetle will be his first studio film.

John Rickard and Zev Foreman are producing, with Walter Hamada, Galen Vaisman and Garrett Grant serving as executive producers.

The creative team behind the scenes includes director of photography Pawel Pogorzelski (Midsommar, Hereditary), production designer John Billington (Bad Boys for Life), editor Craig Alpert (Deadpool 2, The Lost City), Oscar-nominated costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo (Jojo Rabbit, the Thor films), visual effects supervisor Kelvin McIlwain (The Suicide Squad, Aquaman) and composer Bobby Krlic (Midsommar, the Snowpiercer series).

A Warner Bros. Pictures Presentation, a Safran Company Production, Blue Beetle will premiere in theaters only internationally beginning August 2023 and in North America August 18, 2023. It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.

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